The present invention relates to novel dental instruments. Particularly, the present invention relates to useful and novel periodontal instruments such as periodontal scalers and curettes.
With the use of preventive dentistry and fluoride treatment, as well as good dental hygiene, human teeth are lasting longer and a major concern is now periodontal disease. Periodontics is a branch of dentistry that deals with diseases of the supporting and investing structures of the teeth including gums, cementum, periodontal membranes and alveolar bone. As a part of normal periodontal work, it is necessary to invade the pocket between the tooth structure and the gum in order to curettage diseased tissue and to scrape calculus and plaque found on the tooth structure below the gum line. A number of instruments are known for such work, including Gracey curettes, Barnhart curettes and Universal curettes and scalers; however, they suffer from a number of problems. Many of the instruments of the prior art require wide separation of the gum from the tooth structure in order to accomplish proper curettage and scaling. This results in subsequent inflammation and swelling. A great deal of pain is also associated with periodontal work using prior art instruments and the usual practice is for anesthesia to be administered when in performing periodontal work. In addition, the prior art instruments have not been of sufficient lengths to permit deep work and are wide in the blade portions such that too much tissue is excised. The known instruments have blade thicknesses of about 1 to 2 millimeters. Because periodontal work requires precision, a minor change in angle or size of an instrument results in major differences in the efficiency and effectiveness of the work. Thus, it is apparent that there is a need for periodontal curettes or scalers which are comfortable in handling and use, which are narrow enough and long enough to invade the periodontal pocket and still wide enough to be effective in curettage, which do not require anesthesia and which do not have an angle severe enough to widely separate the gum from the tooth root causing inflammation and swelling. The present invention provides such a periodontal scaler.